


Your Heart On The Line

by CitrineLeaf



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries/Burns, My First AO3 Post, Platonic Relationships, Player is a baby, Player's Parents, WHY CAN'T I STOP TORTURING THE CHILDREN
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:42:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21691678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CitrineLeaf/pseuds/CitrineLeaf
Summary: Player cannot be caught.Which is why he runs when they come for him.But running is never easy,And there's always consequences for your actions.
Relationships: Player & Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 17
Kudos: 294





	Your Heart On The Line

It’s past midnight when Carmen get’s the phone call. She’s beyond tired and besides, she’ll be travelling tomorrow to London from the home base, where her next caper is waiting. Carmen grumbles, But the nagging of her ringtone plays on repeat, forcing her to rummage around in the darkness for her phone, only to blink in confusion at the unknown number.

Nobody but the gang should be able to call her, at least from this phone. Player did his best to make sure of that, especially after everything with ACME. Still, the need to go back to sleep gets her to answer the call, hoping it’ll be quick. Maybe one of the gang misplaced their phone.

“Hello?” She asks, her voice dropping into an exhausted murmur..

The sound of rain and heavy wind plays over the other line, long enough to make Carmen wonder why she picked up, but then another noise comes, a voice quiet enough to be a whimper, one that she has to strain her ears just to hear,”C-Carmen…?”

It’s Player, she’d recognize his voice from a mile away. But there’s something very, very wrong. His voice is broken, like he’s been crying, like he IS crying. “Carmen…?” He repeats softly,” Please… tell me- please be here-…” his voice breaks,”….please.”

“I’m here, I’m here, what’s wrong?” Carmen pushes herself to sit up on the edge of the bed.

Player sucks in a shuddery breath over the line,” Oh thank god, Carmen. I-I thought… I thought the system shut me out again..”

“Why would the system shut you out-“ she’s interrupted by a sharp clap of thunder, during which she can hear Player flinch “- Player? Why aren’t you calling from your computers?”

There’s a moment of silence.

“VILE found me…”

Carmen let’s the phone fall from her hands, absolutely frozen. Her mouth opens and closes several times, but she can’t seem to get proper words out for several moments, because he has to be joking, there’s no way he was found. It’s impossible. His security is to tight, to hard to break into, not even she could have gotten into it.

Right?

“Carmen…? Red?” Player’s voice filters back through.

Maybe she’s wrong, maybe he’s- maybe..

“Player,” She has to snatch up the phone and bring it up to her ear,” Player, are you in immediate danger? Are they close to you right now?”

There’s a sniffle,” N-no… I lost them in the woods, I-I think…”

“Good, hold on for a moment, I’m going to get the others,” Carmen tells him softly,” Just… stay on the line.” She rises up to her feet, crossing to the door to her room. Quickly, she heads out, before darting towards two other sets of doors, knocking on both of them.

She doesn’t wait for a response, she turns away, as Ivy opens one for the doors, Zack Peeking out of the other as the first red head asks,” Carm’? What’s up? We’re sleepin.”

Carmen just shakes her head, raising her free hand and using it to wave them over, they should all be present for this, and she… she can’t explain it, not without Player’s help, even if he’s the one who needs it right now. She stalks over to the couch, placing her phone speaker as she sets it onto the table. She doesn’t sit, she stands over the table, looming by it almost menacingly.

The brief thought to call Shadowsan enters her mind, but he was on a solo mission, his flight back would be tomorrow and well… they need to figure out what to do right now, while Player has a brief respite from danger.

“Okay,” She starts when Ivy and Zack are closer, though they’re both yawning,” Player, I’m going to need you tell us exactly what happened.”

“I-I Just..” Ivy gives Carmen a confused look, glancing down at the phone as Player speaks,” I mean… they-they knocked out the power, bu-but there was the storm, so I just thought it would come back in a few hours. I-… there was a knock at the door and… so I went to answer it… but, it was the distraction,” there’s a muted sob as he squeezes out,” Red… they used my window, they- they threw a trip wire into my house...”

“They used a trip wire!?” Zack gawks, way more loudly than needed,” Didn’t they

Try ta’ use that on a city?”

“A-a small one…” Player corrects,” th-they used a small one as a bomb…”

Carmen moves away from the table to pace back and forth, asking,” How big of an explosion did it cause? Did anybody notice?”

“M-maybe my neighbours?” His voice starts to break once more as he adds,” my parents… they didn’t have the time to scream.”

Carmen stops pacing immediately. The weight of Player’s words bring a deep silence that falls over them, only interrupted by the sounds of the storm on the other side of the phone line and the hacker’s stifled sniffles and tears. Carmen crosses her arms over her chest, thinking..

She goes over everything she knows about what happened. Granted, it’s far to little, but it’s good to piece together what she can. Especially since - glancing over at Zack and Ivy – the twins seem to be lost by the information, maybe they’d be able to comfort him if he was at the base..

Carmen takes a deep breath.

“Are you…” She finally manages to start up the conversation again,” Are you injured?”

“No!” His reply is quick this time, maybe he was waiting for somebody to start talking again,” I’m… I was out of the room, it didn’t hit me.”

“Good…” Carmen’s nodding, though Player can’t see it,” How’d you… get away?”

His reply is short,” I-I just… I just ran…dipped into the woods and didn’t stop, un-until I got on the main roads…”

Carmen frowns down at the phone. She turns to Ivy and Zack for a brief moment, only to see the former trying to say something. “Ivy?” Her teammate looks startled,” What is it?”

“Does he-“ Ivy pauses, leaning closer to the phone,” Player, do you have the hard drive?”

There’s a slight pause, the sounds of the hacker shifting around. He mumbles something along the lines of ‘EMP damage shouldn’t..’ before raising his weak voice for them to hear,” Yea-yeah I do, it’s all I could… all I could grab in time before I had to… start running.”His words bite with regret at the end, but Ivy ignores that part as she looks up at Carmen.

“So… are we getting him out of Canada?”

There’s another pause, Player’s the one who breaks it this time,” I-I can’t stay…”

“Oh!” Zack - who’s been quiet this whole time – finally chimes in,” If we bring him to San Diego, then he can be safe and do his weird hacker magic! AND have his own room at the headquarters!”

Carmen frowns, the brief memory of one of Player and Zack’s conversations flashing through her mind, ‘I have my own room’ she remembers him insisting when Zack joked about him joining them at the home base. He’ll have to come here, it’s not just joking anymore, it’s the safest place for him if VILE came to his house.

Plus, he could still hack in a little cave, with the added bonus of actual company besides his computers and… his parents.

“Player,” she keeps her voice calm and level,” We’re going to get you out of there.”

—CARMEN-SANDIEGO—

They make arrangements, sending Shadowsan with passports, plane tickets, and anything else he needs to get Player to them safely. Carmen wishes she could do it herself, but Shadowsan is both much closer and, if Player is still being followed, a lot better at being stealthily then any of them. It’s what he literally taught at the academy.

So, anxiously, she spends her time by the phone, checking in with Shadowsan periodically after he’s landed. It’s easy for Shadowsan to find Player - he’s stayed close to the same toll phone he called from, via their orders – and even easier to then get him dressed in half-decent clothes, enough to fool a TSA agent into thinking he totally didn’t just get attacked by VILE operatives. At least, that’s what Carmen gets through Shadowsan’s brief texts.

When they actually call, it’s from Shadowsan’s laptop, a simple FaceTime.

“Where’s Player?!” Carmen starts immediately, but her former teacher simply raises a hand in a ‘hold on’ gesture.

Shadowsan’s wearing the same black and grey street clothes she’d bought him, there’s a cup of what she guesses to be coffee in front of him. But, he pushes said cup aside, moving to turn the laptop – and the camera with it – towards the chair beside him in the small, and relatively private, corner of the café.

Carmen’s heart stops when she lays eyes on her hacker.

Player’s out cold, curled up in on himself on the small chair, his knees tucked close to his chest and his arms hidden in between. Shadowsan’s given him a blue hoodie about two sizes too big, but she’s sure it’s helping hide any bruises from his encounter with VILE. The hood’s drawn over his head, also, making it difficult to see his face, unlike the hoodie itself, she’s unsure wether or not it’s intentional.

She leans back in the couch she’s sitting on, watching the slow rise and fall of the hacker’s chest. It’s reassuring, comforting, actually, a reminder that yes, Player survived VILE alone., which seems both horrifying and amazing, both for the same reason of him being a child. (She wonders, for a brief moment, if his was how he felt after the Coach Brunt incident)

Carmen sighs, shutting her eyes for a few moments, briefly contemplating asking Shadowsan to wake him up so they could talk. But if she’s this tired, even after getting some sleep, Player has to be more then just exhausted.

“I got him to eat, Carmen.” Shadowsan’s voice draws her back to reality,” But I suspect he may be injured.”

“What?!” Carmen snaps as he turns the laptop again, scooting his chair closer to Player’s at the same time to make sure she’s able to see them both. She takes a deep breath, she shouldn’t freak out again,” How bad is it?”

“I’m not sure, it’s only a guess that he’s injured,” Shadowsan shakes his head on the other side of the screen,” I’m not close enough with him to press the issue, but when he gets to the base-“

“I know,” she interrupts,” I’ll check him when he gets here, just… for now, make sure he doesn’t push himself, or collapse, or something worse.”

Carmen’s mentally cursing Player, because if Shadowsan thinks there’s something wrong with him, then that mean something is WRONG. At least he’s with Shadowsan and not flying alone, if he collapses he’ll have somebody there to keep him out of VILE’s hands.

“When’s your flight again?”

“Just under an hour, then it’s five hours heading over. You gave us a bit more time then we needed by not taking the immediate flight back,” Shadowsan pauses, doing some math in his head,” I should wake up the boy soon and start to head over.”

“You needed to get him prepared for airport security.” She hummed back, her eyes on Player,” We’ll be waiting at the airport for you two once you arrive.”

“Take care of him, Shadowsan.”

“I will, see you soon.”

—CARMEN-SANDIEGO—

Carmen and the gang get there a few minutes early.

They have time to loiter around, Ivy and Zack practically terrorize airport shops in search of pizzas, which, in the end, they don’t find. Carmen, though? She sits in a chair, waiting by the gate her friends are supposed to come out of. She keeps track of the flight times, checking her phone for the time every few minutes.

Their plane lands without a problem, the gang watching from the windows until the passengers start being let out. They wait, patient, until a man walks out, a boy in the same blue hoodie stumbling after him, gripping their sleeve and clutching a small bag with the other arm. It takes her a moment to realize it’s Player and Shadowsan.

The latter is glancing around, his eyes wide, he looks tired, he looks scared. Carmen frowns, standing up and trotting towards them. Player notices instantly, locking eyes with her for a brief moment. He pulls on Shadowsan’s sleeve – the small gesture reminds Carmen of a child trying to get their parent to look at something – and they start walking, too, halving the distance and meeting each other in the middle.

The moment she’s close enough, Carmen snatches the hacker up into a hug. A quiet, bitten-back yelp hits her ears. Carmen lets him go instantly, Player gives her a half-hearted smile, holding the small bag tighter, but she can tell in his eyes he’s hurt. Shadowsan was right, but the former teacher is to busy with Zack and Ivy’s ‘Player Protection Squad’ idea to notice what’s just happened.

“Guys, I think Player Is-“ he fumbles to grab her hand, cutting her off. When she takes it, looking back down at the boy, he jerks his head over to the gates, where security is watching people. The sign is a clear indication of ‘Not here’.

“Playa’s What?” Zack turns to face them, smiling at the hacker.

“We should get Player back to the base,” If Player doesn’t want to talk here, she’s not going to make him, but she is going to do it at the base.

Before she can start getting them all towards the car, Zack gasps, grinning. He rushes past Ivy, Shadowsan, and Carmen herself to grab Player by the shoulders,” LISTEN KID! We can get Carmen to get you any type of food-“

“Wait what-“ Carmen tries, but she’s interrupted by Ivy’s cheering

“ANY TYPE!”

Player’s still holding onto Carmen, he looks a bit surprised. Still, he manages to turn, forcing a smile,” Please, Red?” His begging comes with the tiny voice and everything and-

She gives him a ‘stop encouraging them’ look, but, after a moment of puppy-eyes from the siblings – and Shadowsan once again questioning her choice in partners - she gives up fighting,” Okay, Okay! But only because of what happened.”

Ivy and Zack high five each other at their victory, Player gives them both a tiny high five as well, and they start talking to him about different restaurants. Carmen gives his hand a small squeeze, and then they set off towards the exit of the airport.

Carmen helps Player into the white van, despite his insistence that he doesn’t need it, she offers to take the bag from him, but he just shakes his head, slowly getting into a seat. After, Ivy helps Player decide on Dairy Queen, Zack pulling the car away from the airport the moment he hears the decision.

They talk in the car, though Ivy and Zack seem to be dominating the conversation. They let it dip into the topic of last night, though it’s mainly Shadowsan answering their questions, not Player, who opts to only fill in some of the blanks and do a few corrects. (“N-no… Ivy, it didn’t fry the hard drive-“ “Zack, humans… humans don’t work like that.” “Yeah… I was out in a storm.”) It’s hard to hear him, occasionally, but Ivy and Zack both quiet down when Player speaks.

They pull up to restaurant and order without any issues – Player only orders fries, Carmen bumps his order up to large fries – and eat in the car on the way to the base, continuing the conversation.

Carmen glances down at the small bag Player’s still holding, casually asking,” So… whatcha’ have there?”

“It’s..” he pauses to shift around uncomfortably,” It’s the hard drive.”

Carmen nods, choosing not the press him. If he’s been guarding it this whole time, it can’t be a dead drive, and he probably won’t give it up right now, even to her. considering what happened to him last night, he probably didn’t let Shadowsan even touch it.

Ivy and Zack seem to notice Player’s discomfort, because they immediately take the conversation away from that of last night. Actually, Carmen notices that the siblings seem to start to actively avoid the topic, dodging it in favour of more happy, random topics, things that earn laughter out of most of the car, starting with Zack’s weird food jokes that Ivy makes fun of him for, and then switching to how absolutely tiny Player is.

They pull up at the home base, Ivy and Zack immediately going off about how ‘You’re gonna’ love it, Playah!” As they head inside. True to their words, the hacker has to pause and look around, impressed,

“You.. you guys really fixed this place up, huh?” He’s smiling, small and sweet.

“Yup!” Zack calls from somewhere behind them,” We set up-“

“Setting!” Ivy corrects, hopping out in front of them and gesturing towards a door a few feet away from them, the farthest door,”We’re SETTING up a room for ya! It’s still in progress!”

“Can I see it?”

“Course! You can tell us what you want us to add-“

“Actually,” Carmen interrupts,” Player, can I speak with you? We can talk in the room if you want.”

He nods, so she grabs his hand, gently leading him off towards the room. There’s several others, including the large door to the gym, but she ignores them, taking him to his room. Carmen opens up the door slowly, letting Player walk in first.

It’s small, barely furnished with a small mattress in the corner, but Ivy and Zack have tossed on more then a few blankets and pillows to make up for it. Player looks happy at the sight of it all. The hacker slowly walks over to the mattress, setting the small bag down. He steps back, before turning to face her, asking,” What… what did you want to talk about, Red?”

Slowly, she crosses her arms over her chest,” How badly are you hurt?”

Player shakes his head, insisting,” I’m fine, Red. I was out of the room during the blast and-“

“Player,” She says his name, her words stern,” How badly are you hurt?”

Player grimaces, he’s been caught red-handed, and they both know it,” You… you aren’t letting me get out of this, are you?”

“Nope.”

“And… and you promise you won’t get mad at me?”

“Player, I could never-“

“Red…” There’s a small, begging way he’s talking, as he repeats the same words as well,” Do you promise you won’t get mad?”

Carmen studies him for a brief moment, before slowly nodding. Player hesitates, before pulling up his overly-long hoodie sleeves, revealing long… burns. Carmen moves before she’s fully aware of it, Player’s eyes lighting up with fear as she slowly grabs one of his arms, looking over it quietly. The burns are fresh, but old enough to be from last night. Their still slightly red, angry looking, but it hasn’t blistered, which Carmen takes as a good sign.

She’s about to start looking over the other one – already making a mental list of what she’ll need to help him – when Player squirms away from her, uncomfortable. Maybe even painfully, chances are he’s been in pain this whole time… Carmen opens her mouth to say something, but Player squeezes out his words before she can,” You said you wouldn’t be mad!”

“I’m not mad,” She keeps her voice gentle, reaching out to grab his other arm, avoiding his burns as she pulls him closer,” Player, I could never be mad.”

“But you don’t..”

“Player, I’m a concerned friend, not an angry monster,” She frowns at him,” I’m going to get things for your burns-“ he tries to interrupt,”-And yes, you have no choice in me treating them.”

Carmen let’s her hacker go, adding on,” I’ll be right back, take your hoodie off so I can fully see them.”

With Player nodding, she turns her back on him, heading out of the room and once again shutting it behind her. The others are sitting on the couch, talking amongst themselves, but she ignores them for now, instead opting to head towards the ‘bar’ Ivy and Zack set up. (It’s not a real bar, she’s banned alcohol after the ‘see how many we can down before a caper’ incident, Carmen cringes at the memory)

Carmen routes around in the cupboards, eventually finding the medical kits – they have several just in case – and snags up one. She tucks the large white box under her arm, shuts the cupboard, but she’s stopped before she can start walking back to help Player out.

“I was right, no?” It’s Shadowsan, standing in front of her and frowning down at the things she’s grabbed,” How bad is it?”

“Burns up and down his arms, comparable to that time I put my hand on a wood stove back at the academy.”

“You-“

“Coach helped me,” She explains,” But it hurt… and Player’s been like that for over twelve hours…”

“He’s also been moving, which means the damage CANNOT be that bad,” Shadowsan counters, though it’s obvious he’s doing it for Carmen’s sake,” But it may get worse if you do not treat it.” He pauses, before reaching up into one of the cupboards. After a moment, her old teacher drops a small white bottle into her hands. She doesn’t have to read the label to understand its burn cream. “Good luck, Carmen.”

“Thank you,” there’s relief in her voice. She won’t lie, it is nice to hear Shadowsan’s reassurances, even when it comes with warnings and lessons. Shadowsan nods in response, turning to go head back toward Ivy and Zack, who welcome him back into the conversation quickly, but they all glance back at her. She smiles at them, then heads towards the door to Player’s new room, shaking off the feeling of their eyes watching her.

Carmen switches her hands around so that she can turn the doorknob, slipping inside.

Their eyes meet almost instantly. Player’s in the middle of the room, he’s probably been pacing, given how he’s bouncing his leg up and down and scuffed up the floor. He’s taken off the hoodie, instead wearing a torn shirt that barely covers the burns.It takes him a moment to say something, small and soft.

“Hey, Red..”

“Hey, Player,” She gestures to ‘bed’, waiting until he goes on it to do the same, sitting on the floor in front of him. Carmen crosses her legs, setting the medical kit down by her side, leaving the burn cream in her hands. She scoots forward, taking one of his arms carefully while asking,” Is it okay if we talk?”

“Didn’t we already do that?” He quips back, but without the usual happy way they banter,” Because I definitely remember-“

“Player.” She says his name, firm as she unscrews the cap of the bottle,” Can we actually talk about what happened last night?”

He shifts uncomfortably,” S-S’not really important…”

Carmen raises an eyebrow, moving to place some of the burn cream on her palm, slowly spreading it onto his arm,” Being attacked by VILE for the first time isn’t ‘not important’”

Player doesn’t respond for a moment. Instead he lets out a soft sigh, looking down at the half-covered burns, he seems to calm down, actually relaxing for a moment. It’s helping, the cream is supposed to numb the burns, after all.

“Better?” Carmen asks.

“Better,” Player agrees.

“Good,” She finishes with her work on the first arm, starting up with the second,” Buuut, I would like to know how this actually happened, you said you were in the other room.”

“I lied?” He offer-squeaks, his tone inching into that of a question.

“I would’ve never guessed!” She earns a chuckle out of him for that. Carmen’s done with the cream, so she snatched a small medical wipe to clean it off of her hands,” Do you need time or…?”

It takes him a moment of thinking to answer,” No? I-I think I should talk about it? It might help with hunting VILE down…” he trials off, Carmen knows what he means without him having to fully say it.

“No judgements, kid.”

Player takes a deep breath,” Okay so… most of what I told you was real? I guess..? I went to go to the door but.. their timing was off.”

“Timing?”

“They had somebody at the front door, I-I think? Waiting for me to open it just as the Tripwire went off, so they could knock me out, but.. I heard them shouting, so I went back to try and..” he trailed off once more, watching as Carmen carefully unfolds a bandage from the medical kit, before trying to prompt him with.

“And you ran into the room? Got hit half-way in?”

He nods in response, adding,” I threw up my hands, tried to protect my face.”Well, at least that would explain his burns. EMPs typically only affected devices, but something that strong? It leaves more then just a mark.

“That’s the one thing VILE got right,” Carmen starts to wrap the bandage around his arms,” Always, ALWAYS, protect the face.”

Player smiles, which she takes as a good sign,” What did the Umm..” he’s not going to be smiling after this, though,” What did the tripwire do to your devices?”

“Fried them,” He tells her,” The hard drive has- had a small hidden compartment in my desk, and coupled with where the Tripwire was-“

“It survived?”

“Basically, I think I’ll need to fix it up, but it’s usable.”

“Knowing you, you can fix anything,” She finishes on his arms, tying up the bandages with small clips. Carmen releases Player, watching as he tugs uncomfortably on the bandages. He probably wants them off, but that would be bad,” So, why did you lie about being hurt? Isn’t that what you’re always getting mad at me for doing?”

“It’s complicated?” He tries.

“I’m good at listening,” She counters, smiling at Player reassuringly.

“I-I guess I just…” Player fidgets with the bandages on his arms,” it’s my fault, right? I did this?”

“What do you mean, kid? VILE did this,” Carmen gestures to his arms.

His voice is breaking again as he shakes his own head, trying to clear it,” I didn’t want-“. He pauses to collect himself, looking up at her,”But.. Red.. if I had hidden better, maybe not stayed with them- m-maybe- maybe if I hadn’t been with them they could still be.. alive.”

It takes Carmen until Player starts wiping at his eyes to realize he’s trying to hold back tears, the dam he’s been holding together finally breaking,” Carmen, they died because of me! Because I couldn’t- Carmen, if I hadn’t of ran, maybe I could…” he chokes out a sob between his words,” Maybe I could’ve saved them…”

She lunges forward, minding his injured arms as she wraps him up into a tight hug. Carmen’s.. not typically one for emotional things, but soothing him seems to come naturally, so she starts to murmur soft reassurances, eventually shifting to rocking them both back and forth.

It takes awhile, but eventually Player calms down enough to speak again. He pulls away from her, looking down and mumbling,” Sorry..”

“Sorry?” Carmen shakes her head, keeping her voice low and soft,” Kid, look at me.”

Hesitantly, the hacker does as she says.

“It want your fault, VILE are… horrible people..” she forces a small smile,” You had no clue what was going to happen.”

“But I could have..”

“Player, you did what you could, nobody blames you, okay?”

“Okay..”

**Author's Note:**

> First AO3 post...
> 
> Yeet yeet
> 
> I had such a hard time writing this, meant to get it out before by birthday but Oof. I basically thought “how do I make Player sadder?”
> 
> Also, the cafe scene gave me maddddd soft boi vibes, Player was adorable, guys with hoodies too big is adorable.


End file.
